Practical Theology Commons^™

Divine Hiddenness And Middle Knowledge: A Molinist Answer To How An Anselmian God Can Coexist With Reasonable Nonbelief, Brian Gray Chilton

Liberty Theological Review

Within the spectrum of doubt, divine hiddenness becomes a problem regarding the love of God. Why would a loving God allow individuals whom he loves, if he loves everyone, to maintain ? According to philosopher John Schellenberg, the existence of rational nonbelief poses a problem for divine hiddenness which provides a reason to believe that God does not exist.

We argue that the problem of rational nonbelief does not pose a problem for divine hiddenness if one adopts the doctrine of middle knowledge, a belief first proposed by Spanish Jesuit Luis de Molina. We first offers a defense for the …

A Christian Response To Modern Extraterrestrialism, Chase Perry Cakmis

Masters Theses

Extraterrestrial beliefs (ET-ism) have become a cultural craze in contemporary times, infatuating many who encounter these ideas. ET-ism has influenced all forms of media, science, and even religion. With ET-ism permeating all facets of society, Christians need to know how to approach this craze and the ideas that sprout from it. Much research has been conducted on this subject both on the individual and scientific level, thrusting these beliefs from fringe views believed only by the paranoid into widely accepted ideas even within the scientific community. While Christian circles have discussed this subject in the past, it is becoming a …

Measuring The Effectiveness Of Large-Scale Discipleship Methods In Adult Believers: A Study Of The Southwest Church Rooted Experience, Kim Walton Harrell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Spiritually mature believers bear the burden of responsibility for an early-stage believer’s discipleship development. As a believer matures over time, the weight of responsibility shifts from the church corporately to the individual believer’s responsibility to disciple himself and others. Southwest Church has approximately 3,500 adult attendees on an average weekend and has the responsibility to disciple large numbers of early-stage believers in their faith journey. This research of large-scale programmatic discipleship methods centers on the Rooted experience recently adopted at Southwest Church. The purpose of this DMIN action research thesis is to positively affect the early discipleship development of adult …

A Study On Bible Study Group To Improve Expository Preaching Preparation: The Case Of 701 Korean Church Bible Study Group, Young Shik Choi

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The rapid growth in number of Korean churches have led the period of quantitative revival. However, at same time, diverse problem emerged such as materialism and secularization. The main reason was due to the lack of spiritual growth of the church members. In this regard, expository preaching which provides clear understanding of the scripture and applications to live as healthy Christians is inevitable. Many preachers in the past have had interest in and tried expository preaching but they could not write down their script with elements of expository preaching due to the lack of understanding and training in this field. …

Rethinking Intergenerational Worship To Pass Down Spiritual Legacy Through The Generations In Korean Churches, Sungjoo Yoon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Korean Christianity has seen astonishing growth over the past century. As churches have grown, with the necessity of more specified education by age, generational separation in worship services and programs has become a common trend in Korean Churches. However, this tendency has also stimulated conflicts and divisions among generations in churches. Consequently, the age group segregation within churches has made it increasingly difficult for them to preserve Christian legacy through the generations. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis project is to assist Korean local churches in reevaluating and adopting Intergenerational worship as a biblical means to bind generations in one …

Obeying The Commission: A Model For Equipping Christians To Make Disciples, David Kofi Bempong

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Jesus was explicit when He gave His disciples specific instructions before His ascension. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus commissions his followers to be disciple-makers. Christians today are beneficiaries of the previous generations’ efforts to fulfill this commission. The purpose of this project is to evaluate how discipleship is accomplished at Riverdale Baptist Church and to propose a strategy demonstrating practical ways people can begin making disciples. The traditional church model is losing relevance amid a society that is increasingly dissociating itself from formal religion. The body of Christ must be in touch with their communities and find effective ways of making …

Leadership Succession In The Missionary Baptist Church, Roger Bush

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Leadership succession planning is often overlooked in many church organizations. Failure to create succession strategies causes organizations to face uncertain futures during leadership transitions. An absence of succession planning can repress an organization’s financial growth, congregational morale, and spiritual growth, and in some cases, result in permanent dissolution. The purpose of this project is to examine the state of leadership succession planning within the Kenansville Eastern Missionary Baptist Church Association. This thesis project employs surveys and comprehensive interviews of senior pastors of local churches within the Kenansville Eastern Missionary Baptist Church Association to explore succession planning and leadership transitions perspectives. …

Maintaining A Biblical Worldview: Mitigating Emerging Syncretism With Worldly Philosophies Through Focused Instruction In Christian Theology, Scott Kendal Leafe

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are granted a “new nature” that enables them to develop thinking, a worldview, based on the mind of Christ. Unfortunately, since every person’s worldview is continually being modified, it becomes ever more challenging for believers to keep their thinking consistent with Scripture. Therefore, this action research thesis assumes consistent participation in focused teaching on fundamental doctrines and theologies of the Christian faith is necessary to develop and maintain a cohesive biblical worldview. This research project comprised the teaching of a five-part Bible study course at a local church in eleven consecutive forty-five-minute classes on …

Ethical Decision Making In Nursing Practice: The Impact On Moral Distress, Anthony W. Green

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There is significant research that indicates nurses working in a hospital setting experience moral distress while caring for their patients. While there are many barriers that prevent nurses from overcoming moral distress and moving toward moral resilience, this research project focused on eliminating barriers that nurses face in making good ethical, moral, biblical decisions. The research methodology for this project was qualitative, interpretive, and longitudinal. There was an initial interview with five participant nurses at Ellis Medicine regarding their knowledge of ethics in healthcare and moral distress. The researcher then provided an education program for participant nurses to increase their …

Small Groups Evangelistic Growth At New Gainesville Seventh-Day Adventist Church, John Raymond Sconiers

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Christian denominations generally have low growth rates and stagnant evangelistic programs. While churches struggle to evangelize new believers, evangelistic models that utilize small group methodology have shown various degrees of success. The purpose of the author is to conduct a church growth study of the New Gainesville Seventh-Day Adventist Church by developing, implementing, and evaluating small groups over a thirteen-week period to analyze it’s effect on quarterly growth rate. The author will define and implement biblical principles of small groups and measure the outcome of numerical and personal growth among participants. As a result of implementing small group evangelism into …

A Study On The Small Groups For The Vitalization Of Young Adult: With A Focus On Dang-Il Church, Jongkil Park

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis is a study on the revitalization plan for youth ministry in the church. The purpose of this study is to study the effect of small group ministry on faith growth and youth revitalization as a way to promote youth ministry based on the understanding of youth. Today, while the growth of Korean churches is slowing and the number of members decreases, the youth group has also stopped growing, facing a crisis of spiritual growth and a crisis of existence itself. The decline of the young generation is not a problem only today, but at a time when the …

A Biblical Understanding Of Making Disciples, Gregory Douglas Brown

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

One of the many functions of the local church is to make disciples. Unfortunately, thoughtful and consistent efforts have not always proven to yield the results that accompany transformational living. This thesis project seeks to address and remove some of the barriers around discipleship and disciple-making in the local setting. This study provided a discipleship training course targeted toward spiritually mature male leaders. Individuals were invited to attend a six-session training course where they were equipped with a biblical understanding of discipleship, and training in spiritual disciplines, to aid in their personal growth and ability to teach others. Data was …

Go & Make Disciples: The Biblical Foundation For Discipleship In The Way Of Jesus, Ryan May

Senior Honors Theses

What are Jesus’ foundational teachings that lay the groundwork for discipleship in the church today? Within this paper, I will seek to work through the initial section of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount to distill the essential theological lessons of Christ on discipleship. After introducing some important cultural realities concerning the state of discipleship in the church today, Matthew 5 will be thoroughly engaged. Beginning with a discussion on cultural, literary, and theological backgrounds, the passage will be broken down section by section to discern key truths expressed for the modern church. The paper will conclude with further reflection questions …

Investigating The Prevailing Worldviews Of American Public Education: A Brief Analysis And History, Chester Walker

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis investigates whether the philosophies and worldviews underlying U.S. public education contradict or purposefully undermine Biblical Christianity. It provides readers with an understanding of the Biblical Christian worldview to enable them to analyze and contrast prominent worldviews of public education. Pragmatism and Marxism run rampant in public education today. Both strongly oppose fundamental tenets of the Biblical Christian worldview. To determine any purposeful anti-Christian agenda, the author examines the men behind the worldviews. Christianity maintains that ideas and practices in education originate from deeply-held, personal beliefs, which are passed on to students. Education is a means of discipleship to …

The Way We See Matters: Developing A New Theological Vision For Effective Cross-Generational Evangelism, Michelle Naomi Jeremie

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Today, North American churches have great opportunities and face unique challenges in fulfilling their mandate to make disciples. This DMIN thesis discusses the issue of how to more effectively evangelize the Millennial generation and Generation Z in a postmodern context. The purpose of this thesis is to address the need for church leaders to utilize a specialized evangelism training program to equip Christians to evangelize to non-believers across generational lines. The focus of this project is to implement the Cross-generational Evangelism Training (C-GET) Program at a ministry that has a low representation of Millennials and Generation Z. This Program will …

Potential Ministry Approaches For Reaching Hispanic Millennials In El Paso, Texas America’S Largest Ethnic Demographic In The Borderland, William Howard Lavender Ii

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

How can evangelical churches be more effective when conducting Christ’s missional mandate to make disciples of all nations among one of the United States’ largest ethnic people group? A recent demographic study reveals that 60% of Hispanic Millennials form one of the nation’s largest ethnic demographics. The El Paso Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is home to the largest concentration of Hispanic Millennials living in the United States. This Doctor of Ministry project discovers ministry approaches that will equip ministry leaders in El Paso, Texas to be more effective at conducting Christ’s missional mandate within their ministry context.

Church Revitalization: Fashioning Church For Growth, Willie Lee Wormack

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis research project is an approach to resolve the issues of the critically declined and dying Friendship Baptist Church whose membership cannot support a viable ministry. Friendship Baptist Church exists with minimal infrastructure at 38503 Mosstown Road, Dade City, Florida, in the rural Lacoochee, Florida area. Friendship Baptist Church needs a visionary plan with leadership and team support directed to assist with church development and growth. The case study approach will implement exploration on the meanings and beliefs of Christianity for the church in the church’s social setting. Investigations about cultural associations of faith with the church is engaged …

A Study Of A Systematic Evangelistic Discipleship Process At The Lighthouse Free Methodist Church, Thomas Michael Doherty

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The Lighthouse Free Methodist Church in Barryton, Michigan, lacks a systematic discipleship program that produces disciple-makers. This Doctor of Ministry project purposes to integrate a systematic discipleship program into the Lighthouse Free Methodist Church. The research methodology includes pre-and post-surveys and interviews. Pre- and post-survey data were collected to compare the number of disciplers, salvations, worship attenders, and the number of new systematic evangelistic discipleship groups. Six People participated in the training provided. The Lighthouse FMC is located near a small community of three-hundred people and is in the middle of a ten-mile circumference with thirty thousand. Thirteen people started …

Preparing The Next Generation For A Pluralistic World: The Need To Teach Systematic Theology To Christian Youth, Terrance Jermayne O'Neil

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The continuation of Christianity is rooted in the historical practice of the preceding generation theologically educating the next generation. This process has led to the spreading of the gospel throughout the world. However, in recent years, the Christian church has watched an entire generation walk away from the faith. Many youths who affirmed their faith in Christ are abandoning their confessions and practice. The challenges and skepticism of a pluralistic and relativistic culture have questioned historic Christianity. Regretfully, Christian youth are unable to respond theologically and accurately with confidence. The church has failed to prepare them. This study sought to …

Educating Church Leaders: Providing End-Of-Life Spiritual Care To Life Changers Church Ministry, Jermaine Joshua Ruffin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Life Changers Community Fellowship Church, of Jackson, Mississippi, struggles to provide end-of-life spiritual care to its members. Its church leadership has placed the responsibility of providing end-of-life spiritual care on institutions such as hospice and palliative care companies. These organizations do their best to provide end-of-life spiritual care, but struggle due to cultural and ethnical boundaries, and a lack of resources to provide such care. This study seeks to examine whether end-of-life spiritual care is a biblical concern and/or mandate within church leadership. In addition, this study will explore how hospice chaplains understand end-of-life spiritual care provided to patients and …

Christian Liberty, Harry Allotey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Christian liberty is freedom from the law, made possible through the finished work of Christ. This project seeks to present a biblical and theological explanation of Christian liberty and develop concepts that apply to the believer’s everyday experience. It is important to address the ever-present dangers of legalism and libertinism and their impact on the Christians and churches. The project focuses on a New Testament explanation of Christian liberty, drawing lessons from both the deliberations of the Jerusalem Council of 49 A.D. and the Pauline thesis to the Galatians. What happens after a person has been freed from the demands …

Bringing Millennials Back To Church, Katherine Noell Parrish

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study is focused on the millennial age group at Mechanicsville Baptist Church in Gordonsville, Virginia. The overall purpose of this study is to increase the attendance of the millennial age group at MBC. If the church gains a better understanding of the dropout problem, increases communication, and improves discipleship, then it should increase millennials at MBC by 20% over four weeks. There were several events planned, along with increased communication, in the hope of meeting this goal. Some of these events had to be modified or cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic limits for any gatherings in Virginia. The unforeseen …

A Study On The Development And Effectiveness Of Christian Leaders Through Cambodia Christian International School, Changsoon Son

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This paper is about fostering Christian leaders and missionary roles in Cambodia through the operation of the Christian International School in Cambodia. The researcher emphasizes the necessity and importance of Christian international schools in Cambodia, a Buddhist country, and aims to present missionary strategies through them. Cambodia is located in Indochina, southeast of Asia, and has a painful history of the Killing Fields. In 1976, a Chinese-backed Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot, killed at least one million Cambodians by 1979, systematically sweeping the educated middle class and most of those who seemed enemies of the government. As a result, Cambodia …

A Study On Alternatives For Next Generation Through Vitalizing Family Worship: The Case Of Daegil Church, Eunjick Cha

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis aims to highlight the necessity of family worship for the succession of the next generation's faith by studying the effect of the revitalization of family worship on the transmission of faith to the next generation. The growth of Korean churches in the past has grown so rapidly that it is hard to find in the history of churches around the world. However, despite the fact that there are various forms of worship and training programs, in the 21st century, Korean churches are experiencing a slowdown in church growth along with the stagnation of Sunday School. There may be …

Intentional Discipleship: Effective Disciple-Making For Church Growth In Liberia, George L. Suah

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Pastors of extremely effective disciple-making churches are conscious of the degree of church efficiency, and they recognize the significance of intentional discipleship for church growth. The purpose of this study is to investigate intentional discipleship for church growth in Liberia. An anonymous research study of 12 pastors and church leaders (evangelists) from Unity Light Ministry Network (UCC) in Kakata, Liberia, West Africa, was conducted to explore why Unity Light Ministry Network (UCC) in Liberia is struggling to grow their church numerically and spiritually. The study found that the Ministry does not have adequate and systematic training on intentional discipleship for …

Biblical Literacy: Developing A Habit Of Personal Bible Reading Among The Members Of Contending For The Faith Christian Fellowship, Christopher L. Coleman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Biblical literacy is an important value in the life of any person, and especially in the life of a believer in Jesus Christ. However, all too often, believers lack a firm grasp of Scripture knowledge and understanding, and consequently, are unprepared to detect and avoid erroneous teaching and to “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 3). One of the reasons for this pervasive lack of biblical literacy among many believers is because there is a lack in the development of a habit in personal Bible reading outside of the weekly church services. …

Expository Teaching For The Stonepath Church’S Understanding Of Worship, Cassidy Ryan Kesler

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Expository teaching is a method of explanation that can raise the biblical understanding in the minds of those receiving the teaching. This paper studies a group of participants from Stonepath Church who receive three expository teaching lessons on three biblical passages on worship. The initial understanding of biblical worship is gauged by the scores of the participants on a worship survey taken before the first lesson, and the increase in biblical knowledge is gauged by the scores of the participants on the same worship survey taken after the third lesson. A statistical analysis is run to determine whether or not …

Preaching And Teaching: An Integrative Evaluative Approach To Christian Practices At Fil-Am Sda Church, Ernst Jacques

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In this thesis, biblical expository preaching is defined as the exegetical method that brings out the theological nuances of a narrative biblical passage in relation to content and context. Biblical expository preaching in the USA is facing a significant theological challenge as churches are becoming culturally diverse. Research has shown that theological understanding plays a great role in Christian spiritual formation; it has also shown that believers are generally more receptive to sermons that are contextualized. This thesis project aims to determine how biblical expository preaching can make sense to believers and spur them on to spiritual maturity in a …

Prosperity Gospel In Liberia: A Theological Alternative To The Gospel Of Jesus Christ, Jerome A. Newman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Many indigenous Liberian pastors are not theologically grounded on a solid biblical foundation. As such, many Liberian Christians lack foundational knowledge of the truths of the Gospel of Christ for salvation. The prosperity gospel or “Faith, Wealth, and Health” theology in Liberia is a significant deviation from the Gospel of Christ that undermines sound hermeneutical interpretation of Scripture. This study examines why a growing number of pastors in Liberia are replacing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the prosperity gospel. An anonymous survey research study of 12 pastors from Unity Light Ministry Network (Unity Community Church) in Kakata, Liberia, West …

The Role Of Emotional Intelligence In Chaplaincy: An Analysis If Ei In The Delivery Of Patient-Centered Care, Dean A. Darroux

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study addressed the role of emotional intelligence among healthcare chaplains and its place in delivering patient-centered care at Adventist healthcare, Maryland. The study assumed that since healthcare chaplains’ journeys with their patients help them process their feelings as they understand the nature of their illness, they must identify their feelings and that of their patients to provide better care. It further examined the role of personality in determining its relationship with emotional intelligence and how it would influence patient-centered care. The literature surveyed indicated that emotional intelligence helps individuals understand their emotions as well as that of others. A …